Culver-Stockton men lose on road, remain in fifth-place tie in Heart standings with one game left

LAMONI, Iowa — Graceland University outscored the Culver-Stockton College men’s basketball team 41-32 in the second half to post a 75-66 Heart of America Athletic Conference victory Wednesday night at the Morden Center in Lamoni, Iowa.

The Wildcats remain in a tie for fifth place with Peru State in the league standings after the Bobcats fell 78-76 at Baker University Wednesday. Both teams are 12-11 in the Heart with one game left to play.

C-SC is scheduled to play its regular season finale Saturday at Park University in Parkville, Mo. Game time is set for 5 p.m. Peru State hosts Clarke University in Peru, Neb. That game is slated to tip at 2 p.m.

Tied at 34 at halftime, the Wildcats opened the second half with a 13-5 over the four minutes, 30 seconds of the half to take their biggest lead of the game of eight points.

Graceland clawed its way back into the game by going on an 11-2 run over a five-minute span midway through the second half that gave the hosts a 56-53 lead with 8:53 to play.

The next three minutes saw each team take turns with the lead before the Wildcats tied the game at 62 on a free throw by Nick Spannaus with 4:57 to play.

Graceland then used a 9-2 run over the next four minutes. Seth Larson made two free throws with 1:05 to play to pull C-SC to within 71-66, but that was as close as the Wildcats would get. The Yellowjackets made four free throws in the final minute to secure the victory.

Tai Walters-Whitaker led the Wildcats with 20 points while Larson registered his second straight double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.